The Opelousas courier., 1887-06-25
IN 4 SHARKS MOUTH,
The Thrilling Adventure on a SPAN
iaa Efger.

AKEU IA1EaAahME Oh a Span
fah B1yers
a Spanish divor, while at work be-
meath the sea on the wreck of 3 vessel,
met with a thrilling adventure, and gives
the following graphic account of it: AT
the time | was at the bottom of the sea, y
says Alfetto. II was just about to sig
nal to be drawn up for a moments rest,
when | noticed a shadowy body moving
ut some distance above me and toward
me. In a moment every fish had dis
appeared, the very crustaceans lay still
upon the sand, and the cuttle-fsh scurried
away as fast as they could. I was not
thinking of danger, and my first thought
was that it was the shadow Of a passing
boat. But suddenly a feeling of terror
seized me-. I felt impelled to flee from
something, / knew not what. 4 vague
horror seemed grasping after me, such
as q child feels when entering a dark
ened By this time the shadow
had come nearer and taken shape. 1t
scarcely needed n glance to show me
that it was q man-eater, and one of the
largest size. Had | signaled to be drawn
up then it would have been certain death.
Ali / could do was to remain until it left.
It lay OF twenty or twenty-five feet, just
outside the rigging of the ship, its
body motionless, its fins barely stir
ring the water above its gil!s. 1t
was a monster as it was, but to add
to the horror the pressure of the
water upon my head made it ap.
pear as if it were pouring flames from its
eyes and mouth, and every movement of
its fins and tail seemed accompanied by
o display of fireworks. / was sure the
fish was thirty feet long, and so near
that I could sec its double row of white
teeth. Involuntarily / shrank closer to
the side of the vessel. But my first
movement betrayed my presence. l saw
the shining eyes fixed upon me; its tail
auivered as it darted at me like a streak
Of light. / shrank closer to the side of
the ship. | saw it turn one side, its
mouth open, and heard the teeth snap as
it darted by me. Tt had missed me, but
only for a moment. The sweep of its
mighty tail had thrown me forward. I
saw it turn, balance itself, and its tail
quivered as it darted at me again. There
was no escape 1t turned on its back as
it swooped down on me like a hawk on
a sparrow. The jaws opened and the
long shining teeth grated az they closed
on my metal harness. 1t had me. /
could fee9 its teeth grinding on my cop
per b~reastplate as it tried to bite me in
two-for, fortunately, it had caught me
just across the middle, where l was best
protected. Having seized me it went
tearing through the water. Iscould feel
it bound forward at each stroke of Its
tail. Had it. not been for my
copper helmet my head would
have been torn off by the rush through
the water. / was perfectly conscious,
but somehow I felt no terror at all.
There was only a feeling of numbness. /
wondered how long it would be before
those teeth were crushed through, and
whether they would strike first into my
back or my breast. Then / thought Of
Maggie and the baby, and wondered
who would take care of them, and If she
would ever know what had become Of
me-. All these thoughts passed through
my brain in an instant, but the connect
ing air-tube had been snapped, and my
head seemed ready to burst with pres
sure. while the monsters teeth kept
crunching and grinding upon my har-
ness. Then I felt the cold water begin
to pour in, and heard the bubble, bubble,
as the air escaped into the creatures
mouth. I began to hear great guns and
to SO, fireworks and rainbows and sun
shine and all kinds of pretty things;
then gs.ahought I was floating away on a
rosy Simmer cloud. dreaming the sounds
of sweet music. Then all became bank.
The shark might now have eaten me up
at his leisure, and I should have been
none the wiser. Imagine my astonish-
ment then when | opened my eyes on
board and saw you fellows around me- Y
Alfetto was found by his comrades a
few minutes after the swapping of the
linaka He was picked up insensible with
seyf al holes punched in. the metallic
psMfof his diving suit CasssUs Journal.
sBut